Staff Pick

It’s the 10th anniversary of the iPhone! Have smartphones helped or hurt society?

Payton Simmons:Smartphones are a tool. People say they have hurt society, others say they’ve helped. I believe there are pros and cons to each side. I more so agree that the smartphone has helped our society. It allows people not only to easily communicate, but to even collaborate on their smartphone if needed. The Apple Store offers a massive variety of different apps that can be used as tools. The iPhone is a laptop in a little device. Every new iPhone that comes out applies new updates where it makes social media, games, camera options, and the overall phone so much better, and more addicting. So many people are wrapped up in social media, and being able to not only access it from a laptop but on a phone is crazy cool. The smartphone is portable and has bettered technology today. I feel that the smartphone does at times get distracting and overused. It’s addicting and it becomes a necessity that isn’t really a need. Today’s technology is so advanced that it does everything for us which is making us lazy and less knowledgeable. Some don’t even knowing how to read a hand clock because they are so used to looking at their digital smartphones.

Kody Malouf:Smartphones have helped society more than anything else in human existence years. The wheel, the plane and splitting the atom all pale in comparison to mankind’s true gem, the iPhone. Without smartphones there would be no Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat, and I think we can all agree that those are without a doubt, all integral parts of what it means to be human. Imagine for a second, a world without memes. Ok now stop imagining that because that’s pretty much hell on Earth and nobody should ever have to endure that. That hell would be our reality had Steve Jobs not invented the greatest tool in history. How did people even survive before iPhones? Having to actually talk to people and make conversation? Why not just text them? You can’t use emojis in real life, so there really is no point in talking to anyone in person. IPhones are more that just a memer’s delight though, my iPhone lets Apple know where I am at all times, it sends my private information back to them for “diagnostics,” it even knows where I live! And now the FBI can hack into my phone whenever they feel like it! Thanks Apple!

Kyle Smith:Overall, I think that smartphones are hurting society. People are addicted to their phones and they aren’t enjoying things they normally would if there were no smartphones. For instance, communicating verbally. People are hiding behind screens rather than meeting the person they are talking to and using their voice to communicate. People who text or just use their phone in general while they drive is another reason I believe they hurt society. Phones and driving cause about 330,000 injuries a year. Without phones I think that people would be outside more and they would be more productive in general. Even though phones make it way easier for communicating and advertising, I feel like people are addicted to their phones. People use their phones for games, social media, FaceTime, shopping, and watching Netflix. Whenever people are using their cell phones, nothing really gets done. Like in school for example, when students are on their phones in class they are not accomplishing anything. Which is why I believe that if we lived in a world without cell phones, the world would be a more productive place.

Jenna Miller:Unlike past generations, our generation relies on smartphones. In a way, that has hurt the upcoming generations. You look at infants and they know more about the function of the iPhone better than you do, when past generations only had their imagination and the outside world to play with. Today, the technology that we have is a way to calm kids down and to keep them occupied. That might work, but I feel there are better ways to do so. Our technology is a way for people to hide behind a screen and talk trash without having to worry about what that person is going to say. Our technology has also made an impact on our communication skills. Instead of talking to someone in person or having a conversation on the phone, we text. I believe that social media has made a huge impact on our lives as well. I don’t think it has bettered any of us in any way. On social media you find mean comments, gossip, bullying and a lot more stuff that shouldn’t be acceptable. This results in depression, insecurities, always feeling like someone is judging you and more. iPhones have made this society lazy in the aspect of not wanting to learn anything new because we have access of anything imaginable by a click of a button. I do think that social media and iPhones control everyone’s life, but without them, we’d be lost.

Hannah Maxwell:Smartphones have become an integral part of society. We could not function without our phones. Imagine going on a trip and having to buy a map because your phone can’t show you the way. Smartphones have made life so much easier, even too easy in some aspects. But it’s not the phones fault people are lazy. The app store changed the way we interact and go about our daily lives. Information spreads like wildfire now, you no longer need a computer or magazine subscription to stay up to date. Smartphones have given us the power to do virtually anything in a matter of seconds. With great power comes great responsibility, people will use smartphones to get out of going out and living their lives, but that’s not what they were intended for. Smartphones were created to better mankind and I think they’ve done just that.

Chanell Browne:iPhones have had a big impact on society over the past 10 years. In my opinion, they have helped a lot and have become a very useful tool to most people. The iPhone helps with communication, easy access to stats, records, news, and the internet. It’s a huge source of entertainment in this day in age. The best part, is that iPhones are portable, you can bring them with you almost everywhere. They have really become a huge benefit to society with all these options that you can access with them. But, I have mixed feelings about them and their effects on society. They can be very useful, but they have also caused a lot of social issues over the course of time. People all across the world have become attached, some even addicted to these devices. So addicted, that they can’t even put them down while driving, or walking on the street, or through the store. There have been an excessive amount of car accidents caused by texting and driving over the years of which these smartphones have been around. They are a major distraction to our generation. Smartphones have made such an impact on society that if we got rid of them, there would be total chaos everywhere around the world.